Flood control method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

FLOOD CONTROL METHOD AND APPRATUS UTILIZE TUBULAR BODIES WITH CENTRALLY LOCATED IMPELLERS WHICH ARE PLACED IN A WATERWAY IN THE VICINITY OF A FLOODED LOCATION WHERE THE IMPELLERS PROMOTE THE FLOW OF WATER AWAY FROM THE FLOODED LOCATION.

Oct. 5, 1971 M. LUKAWSKY FLOOD CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 21 1969 l rr INVENTOR MICHAEL LUKAWSKY Oct. 5,1971 L Y 3,609,919

FLOOD CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed NOV. 21, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVE NTOR MICHAEL LUKAWSKY States Patent 3,609,979 FLOOD CONTROL METHODAND APPARATUS Michael Lukawsky, 871 N. 22nd St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19130Filed Nov. 21, 1969, Ser. No. 878,818

Int. Cl. E02b 3/02 US. Cl. 612 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREFlood control method and apparatus utilize tubular bodies with centrallylocated impellers which are placed in a waterway in the vicinity of aflooded location where the impellers promote the flow of water away fromthe flooded location.

This invention relates to an apparatus used to prevent or minimize theadverse effects of floods occurring in rivers, streams and otherwaterways.

It has previously been suggested that floods may be prevented byanchoring a number of power-driven vessels near the mouth of a river andoperating their propellers to discharge water from the flooded area. Theinefliciency of impelling water in such a fashion has prevented theadoption of this prior technique. This invention, on the other hand,provides an apparatus which confines a water impeller in a tubular bodyin order to improve its efliciency; and, means are provided to preventthe return flow of water to the flooded area.

According to the invention, there is an open-ended tubular body adaptedto be submerged in a waterway. An impeller is supported within thetubular body and rotates about an axis which is oriented longitudinallywith respect to the tubular body. Rotation of the impeller by drivemeans forces water through the tubular body from an area where floodinghas occurred to a downstream area. The disclosed means for supportingeach of these tubular bodies includes a buoyant hull-like supportingbody which contributes to the mobility of these devices; and, the hullsare shaped so that when nested together across the waterway, they willprovide an effective barrier to the return flow of water to the floodedarea.

A more complete understanding of a preferred embodiment of the inventionmay be had by inspecting the accompanying drawings wherein FIG. 1 is aview of a plurality of devices made according to the invention, nestedacross a waterway to impel water away from a flooded area.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the preferredapparatus.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of apparatus constructed according to theinvention.

FIG. 4 shows a portion of the invention used to secure the apparatus ina desired location in a Waterway while permitting its verticaladjustment.

It is well known that one cause of floods is that rivers and otherstreams flow rather slowly so that when there is an excessive amount ofwater in a concentrated location, the waterway will overflow its banksas it cannot discharge rapidly into a downstream area.

This invention is directed to the avoidance or minimization of flooddamage by increasing the flow of a stream in its downstream directionand away from a flooded area. This involves tubular bodies through whichthe waters of a stream are positively impelled by the apparatusdisclosed in this application.

Referring to FIG. 1, it will be seen that a stream that has overflowedits banks and has flooded an area 2 which may be regarded as the crestof the flood. Downstream from the crest, in an area 4, the river iswithin its banks,

at least until such time that the crest of the flood reaches this area.

Across the stream in the area 4, there are a series of hull-like bodies6 which are nested closely together and carry the means for impellingwater in a downstream direction represented by the arrow 8'. Thesebodies 6 are designed so that, when nested together, they will obstructthe waterway except in the area through which their water-impellingmechanisms are operative.

One of the hull-like bodies is shown in FIG. 2. It has transversebulkheads 11 which support an open-ended tubular body 10 and preventwater from flowing through the hull around the tubular body 10. The tube10 prefer ably but not essentially is circular in cross-section and itis longitudinally oriented with respect to the hull. It may have adiameter of approximately ten feet and a length of about 20 feet. Theoverall length of the apparatus is about 30 feet. The upstream end ofthe tubular body 10 is in communication with an area 12 located withinthe hull to receive water through a plurality of perforations 14. Thepresence of the perforated area in the bow of the hull 6 prevents theentrance of large foreign objects into the impelling mechanism describedbelow.

The discharge or downstream end of the tubular body 10 is unobstructedduring operation of the apparatus; however, when the apparatus isinoperative, the rear portion thereof is covered by a transom 16 whichis pivotally connected to the hull at 18. Before operating theapparatus, the transom 16 is lowered by a cable 20 to the position shownin broken lines at 22 where it will prevent the flow of water beneaththe body of hull 6. The transom is rectangular and it has a widthsubstantially coextensive with the beam of hull 6 so that when aplurality of these hulls are nested together as shown in FIG. 1, theywill prevent the return flow of water to the flooded area.

Preferably, two separate impellers are used to promote the flow of waterthrough the tubular body 10. These impellers are supported by webs 24which extend radially inwardly from the walls of the tubular body 10 tosupport a pair of bearing cylinders 26 and 28. The central impeller 30is a propeller attached to shaft 32 which rotates within the bearing 28.The impeller 34 has an open central portion and it includes an internalsleeve 36 which rotates on the exterior portion of bearing cylinder 26.Its blades form an angle with respect to a plane which liesperpendicular to its axis of rotation.

The hull 6 carries a motor 38 which may be driven by any suitable meansand includes a power shaft 40 carrying a pair of sprockets 42 and 44.Chains 46 and 48 pass over the sprockets 42 and 44, respectively, withthe chain 48 being operatively associated with a sprocket 50 which iskeyed to the shaft 32 to drive the impeller 30. Sprocket teeth are alsolocated on the outer surface of the sleeve 36 and are engaged with thechain 46. With this arrangement, rotation of the shaft 40 will producerotation of both impellers 30 and 34 to drive water toward thedownstream portion of the river.

The apparatus of the invention is quite mobile due to the reservebuoyancy of the hull 6 so that it may be moved from one area of theriver to another.

The hulls, when operating, are held in position by their engagement withstakes or piles 52 which are driven into the floor 54 of the waterway.As best shown in FIG. 4, each of these piles 52 is notched at itsdownstream side to accommodate horizontal beams 56 which are slidablyconnected to the hull 6 in a manner which permits relative verticalmovement. This slidable connection is established by a series ofvertical rods 58 which are rigidly attached to the beams 56 and areslidably received within the guide sleeves 60 permanently attached tothe hull 6. Vertical movement of the rods 58 within the sleeves 60permits vertical adjustment of the tubular body 10. One way of making avertical adjustment is by using the fluid operated rams 62- which havetheir outer portions secured tothe hull body and their extensible rods64 pressing downwardly on the beams 56 as shown in FIG. 4. Extension ofthe rod 64 will, of course result in elevation of the hull 6 and itsassociated tubular body 10.

The manner of using the disclosed apparatus will be evident from theforegoing description. When a flood is threatening or has occurred, anappropriate number of the hulls 6 are placed downstream of theendangered area either by towing them from a storage location on theriver or by launching them at their intended point of use. The hulls arethen placed in their side-by-side nested relationship across the streamand their transoms 16 are lowered so that the water will flow throughthe tubular bodies 10. The flow of water beneath the hulls may takeplace in a downstream direction if the velocity of the stream is highenough, but not in an upstream direction when the river depth at thedischarge end of the tubes exceeds that at their entrance end due to thepresence of the transoms 16. The impellers are operated to force waterin a donwstream direction away from the flooded area. If the areadownstream of the nest of bulls 6 approaches flood level, the impellersmay be stopped or their speed regulated in order to provide some degreeof control over the location of the flood.

The mobility and operating flexibility of this apparatus permits someselection as to where flooding occurs so that the apparatus may beplaced immediately downstream of a city and operated to flood a ruralarea in order to minimize the urban damage caused by the flood.

There are many variations from the disclosed and preferred embodimentwhich fall within the spirit of my invention. For example, a single hullmay support two or more of the tubular bodies 10. The tubular bodies maybe mounted on wheels which ride in trackways leading to the center of awaterway, with a storage building for the devices being provided in thevicinity of the water- 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 having endlesspower transmission members interconnecting said drive means and saidimpellers.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each of the tubular bodies hasa second impeller located therewithin for propelling water therethrough,said second impellers being rotatable concentrically with theirassociated said first impellers and having an open central portion andan outside diameter greater than that of their associated said firstimpellers.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 having means for vertically adjustingthe position of the tubular bodies in a waterway.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 having a hull-like body' connected toeach said tubular body and havlng sufficient buoyancy to floatablysupport the associated said tubular body.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 having means for I securing each ofthe hull-like bodies in position in a Way. The hull structure whichsupports the tubular bodies 10 may also include self-containedpropulsion means for moving it from one location to another. Although itis preferred to use a number of the tubular bodies, it will be apparentthat even a single one placed in a waterway will promote the downstreamflow of water in order to avoid or minimize the harmful effects offlooding. These and other substitutions for the disclosed apparatus willprovide many of the advantages which are attributable to the inventionclaimed hereinbelow.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for flood prevention comprising a plurality of open-endedtubular bodies located in parallel side-byside orientation in awaterway, barrier means for obstructing the flow of water outside thetubular bodies in the area lying between the surface of the water andthe floor of the waterway, a plurality of first impellers each having adischarge side aligned with an associated said tubular body and beingsupported on the associated said tubular body for rotation about an axisoriented longitudinally with respect to the associated tubular body, anddrive means for rotating the impellers to force water through theirassociated tubular bodies; whereby said apparatus may be used to impelwater in a downstream direction from a flooded area.

waterway.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 having means for vertically adjustingthe position of the tubular body.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the barrier means includes aseries of hull-like bodies, each supporting a respective said tubularbody, with adjacent said hulllike bodies having adjacent surfaces lyingparallel and at least in proximity to each other to prevent the flow ofwater therebetween.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said barrier means alsoincludes plates depending from said hull-like bodies to the floor of thewaterway to prevent the flow of water therebeneath.

10. A method of flood abatement comprising the steps of locating aplurality of generally parallel and horizontal open-ended tubular bodiesbeneath the water surface in a waterway while preventing the flow ofwater in a direction parallel to the tubular bodies in the zones lyingtherebetween, and positively impelling water through the tubular bodiesin a downstream direction until the water level at the downstream endsof the tubular bodies is higher than the water level at the upstreamends thereof.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein the step of locating thetubular bodies in a waterway includes the step of moving a plurality ofbuoyant structures which support the tubular bodies into a nestedrelationship in the waterway, with adjacent buoyant structures havingmutually conforming adjacent surfaces which provide a barrier to theflow of water therebetween.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 260,793 7/1882 Shinkle 6l--2802,534 10/1905 Swan 612 1,104,483 7/1914 Ensminger 611 1,462,151 7/1923Seymour 4l561 3,365,178 1/1968 Bood 61-l X 3,373,821 3/1968 Sare 61-1 XJACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 41561, 221

